While the benefits of implementing virtually any electronic circuit on a single integrated circuit (IC) are well known, some electronic circuits are difficult to implement as a monolithic, single IC (sometimes called MMICs for monolithic microwave integrated circuits), because distinct elements of the circuit require properties that are not desirable in other elements. In the case of wide-band microwave-range voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs), the variable capacitor element (varactor) needs a high breakdown voltage to implement a wide tuning frequency range, and the high breakdown voltage typically requires a thick layer of the relevant material, which leads to a higher resistance in that layer than a thinner layer of the same material. While that is not an issue in the varactor, using the same set of material layers for the transistor element of a VCO would result in unsatisfactory transistor performance, due to the relatively longer transit time in the collector. As a result, wide-band microwave frequency VCOs are typically not implemented as MMICs.